Under The Rainbow
by Perso Nell'oscurita
Summary: A "what if?" story: So, how on earth did the witch get there and how did someone actually forget about her? The answers are held by one who travels far and made a promise to the princesses themselves...I know I suck at summaries. Rated for later. AzXOC


Disclaimer: **I DO NOT own Tin Man however Jaiden IS MINE.**

**Warning:** This is a gender bender and shoujo ai in one. Don't like then don't read.

**Proper Summary:** Jaiden has the answers to a mystery long yet solved. If his secrets are exposed he could lose those he cares most about: especially a certain princess.

**Also:** This fic is pure crack. I came up with it on a whim after watching Tin Man about three or four times in a row...Beware, I own the DVD...This will also be the ONLY disclaimer. I see no point in stating the sad fact that I don't own Tin Man repeatedly. I know my geography of Oz (O.Z.) isn't perfect but there's a map on wiki: http :/ / upload. wikimedia. org/ wikipedia/ commons/ 6/ 6d/ Oz-and-surrounding-countrie. jpg Just take out the spaces, copy and paste into browser, and hit enter (No I don't think any of you are idiots. I'm just preparing for anyone who would screw that up, no matter how little the chance of it happening.)

* * *

Music filled the large room full of guests from all parts of the O.Z. Many were dancing, some were singing. The music carried a classical feel with an upwards tempo and seemingly modern melody. All were keeping themselves occupied with the exception of one. The loner of the crowd sat in a chair close to the darkest part of the circular room with a bored expression. Of course, the loner being the least expected one to be sitting alone. A princess should have at least two to three suitors to ask for her hand in dance but due to her distaste of the noble attitude, she chose to sit and wait out the ball.

"So bored." She whispered quietly to no one but herself. She herself knew that after what the witch had done, no one would even look her in the eye. She knew that when someone looked at her, all that person would see was the face of death that once swept the O.Z. Lost in her thoughts, she was oblivious to the stranger who took the seat next to her.

"These things aren't as exciting as they're made out to be, huh?"

"Wha?" Startled by the question Azkadellia turned her attention towards the person next to her with a surprised expression dashed with a hint of confusion.

"My apologies. You seemed so lost in thought I felt I needed to disrupt it." The stranger smiled, stood, and bowed in her direction, "Forgive me for my rudeness. I am Jaiden. Heir to the southern lands, past the Deadly Desert and further still, past the Gargoyle Kingdom. You must be Azkadellia, princess of the O.Z." He stood straight and took the hand offered to him by the princess and placed a light kiss on her gloved knuckles then returned to his seat next to the young woman.

"Uh. Oh, yes. Forgive me, I am of whom you speak….If I may ask, how did you arrive here?" This perked her interest. Someone from beyond the Deadly Desert? It was not unheard of but rare indeed.

"Our methods are difficult to explain princess–"

"Please, if you wish to call me Azkadellia then do so."

"Alright, Azkadellia, our methods take a few minutes to explain in depth but I can give you the brief version if you prefer."

"Whichever it is you wish to tell me Prince Jaiden–"

"Please, Jaiden will do fine."

A small smile formed on her lips, an interesting conversation with an equally mysterious, albeit random, person. As the tempo changed from the fast to slow she noted a smile formed on the face of the man sitting next to her. The lighting changed from already dim to dimmer. It was then she noticed he had long black hair tied into a low ponytail and a red suit with black lacing and white undershirt, remembering DG referring to them as "colonial" when the girl saw the first nobles to enter the ball. However his necktie had less fluff than the others she saw and instead of the buckled shoes, he wore boots.

"Would you really rather have me explain the way my people travel or would you allow me the honor of dancing with you?" The smile still plagued his features, it hid something Azkadellia knew but what she did not. He stood, bowed slightly, and held his hand to her as an offer.

"Maybe a little of both?" The princess was intrigued by the stranger enough to take his offer. Admitting to herself that she would actually prefer to learn of his people than dance but wasn't capable of turning him down. She also noticed that not once had he opened his eyes, leading her to assume he lost his sight, but he moved as if he could see everything in the room.

"As you wish." The smile grew, losing some mystique to gain relief and a bit of happiness. Azkadellia stood and straightened the long black slightly glittered gown she had been wearing and followed Jaiden onto the floor. Although it was after the beginning of the song, the two danced as if they had been there from the beginning.

"Weren't you going to explain something to me?"

"Oh! My apologies, I almost forgot. About the way we travel. Well, there's the simple way: by air. Then there's my preferred way. I ride a large beast found only in my lands: we call them Ekam. They're similar to the horses here but instead of four legs they have six and rather than hooves made of nail and rough thick fibers, they're made of minerals similar to the rocks that litter the desert but stronger and immune to the curse of the desert itself."

"So it's a six legged horse with rocks on its feet?"

"Precisely."

"Was that the "Complicated" explanation?"

"Actually, that was the easy one. There's also the armor and the magic we must use to

protect the Ekam's body and the riders."

As Azkadellia became wide eyed at the explanation, and eager to learn more, she noticed that they had become the center of attention. This caused her distress, and even more so as her ears heard the whispers claiming that only a blind and/or ignorant man would be interested in her. These whispers did not slip past the ears of the prince either and he frowned at the insults. Azkadellia began to tremble slightly and he held her a bit more firmly.

"Worry not, I feel that there are those who don't criticize you. Look there." Jaiden's head slightly tilted to the left and Azkadellia's gaze followed the direction to notice a smirk on her sister's face, as well as the ones held on her father's and mother's. A blush rose to her cheeks and she buried her face into his chest; taking note that he smelled of flowers. Flowers that were foreign to her but somehow she knew- it was flowers. Questions began forming in her head but before she could ask, the pressure of not only being insulted but also the fact that this man was being insulted because of her was much to bear: she fled.

Jaiden's frown deepened as he felt her warmth leave his body so suddenly. A frustrated growl left his lips, however his calm demeanor did not change as he returned to the area he had first encountered the princess. Rather than sitting, he paced the floor: five steps left parallel to the chairs lined on the wall then three steps back. The faint echoes of her sobs, possibly from the hall, frustrated him more so as they faded from his hearing. His angry pacing ceased when he felt a hand on his shoulder- recognizing the scent immediately as that of Ahamo's and bowing.

"Please, don't bow. You know I dislike it."

"I–"

"Before you say it, you also know I don't like the word "apologize". It sounds too formal."

"Sorry sir. I feel as though it's my fault she fled."

"Jaiden, you know that isn't true."

"But if I hadn't fell to the temptation of dancing we could've been content sitting and speaking."

"Temptation of dancing? This is a ball, you're suppose to dance."

It was at that moment the younger sister decided to pull herself from the crowd of suitors and approached with a worried expression," Dad I… Where's Az? What happ–"

Before DG could continue her father pointed to the exit, "She went to her room. You're welcome to leave as well. I'll go tell your mother what's going on…Jaiden, you're with me."

DG simply smiled and followed her sister's steps while Jaiden nodded and followed the older man. Upon arriving in front of the queen, the prince immediately bowed and a frown formed on her face.

"Jaiden. As I have said before, you need not bow. "

"Apologies Highness. It's been a while since my last visit so I thought I should exercise my manners."

"You certainly have grown from the clumsy child that would wonder the woods at Finaqua. I suppose you've become the knighted prince you dreamed of?"

"Yes Highness, I have. It was hard but I still remember my promise to the princesses." A slight blush tainted his cheeks as he recalled his first meeting with both Azkadellia and DG, a year before the witch possessed the elder sister, "Even if they seemed to have forgotten. However much has happened so I expected their minds to be occupied with more pressing matters than a childhood memory."

"Then you should make them remember, especially if you want to keep your special promise to Azkadellia." Ahamo spoke as he handed his wife a wine glass of water. He knew his wife detested wine.

"A great suggestion sir. May I be excused and take a walk in the garden?"

"You needn't ask. If you wish to walk the gardens and clear your mind then please feel free." The queen smiled as Jaiden's face expressed the joy of being able to do so. As he left, he could hear her informing a guard of his location and to tell the others so the men would not be surprised by his presence.

* * *

DG lightly knocked on the door to her sister's room, putting her forehead against the cool wooden door when she got only sobs as an answer. While she felt bad for not dancing with her favorite Tin Man and her Advisor, she knew her sister needed comfort and comfort is what the elder princess is going to get. DG slowly opened the door and peered around it. She saw Azkadellia sitting in the center of her bed, knees pulled to her chest, hair pulled from its complicated braid, and face buried into her knees. With as much stealth as she could, DG entered and sat next to her sister and enveloped her in a hug.

"I knew I shouldn't have gone to the ball."

"Don't say that, you know mom wouldn't have let you stay here alone anyway. Besides, you're a great dancer…And that guy seemed really into you."

"What do you mean? All we did was dance and talk. Besides, he must've heard the whispers. He seemed so displeased…"

"Well I don't think anyone would be happy to be insulted…but he did look restless after you left. He seemed let down that you left him there."

"You heard the whispers though:" He's too good looking for her", "Only a blind fool would even be remotely attracted to her. And it seems as though there is one." Deeg, he was being insulted because of me! I can understand if they were persecuting only me but him too? He has nothing to do with what happened!"

"I see your point but he looked more upset with them than he did you. In fact, he went straight back to that corner you were hiding in. I bet he was hoping you had at least stopped there for something."

"He…did?" For the first time since DG had entered the room, Az looked up at her with puffy red eyes, sniffling.

"Yeah. Now that I think about it, he's kinda cute too. Dad seemed to know him. They were talking when I showed up to ask about what happened."

"He…smelled like flowers."

"Huh?"

"When we were dancing I noticed he smelled like flowers I had never smelled before. I wonder what it's like on the other side of the Deadly Desert."

"Deadly…Desert?" DG showed confusion on her face as the elder woman spoke, "What's a Deadly Desert?"

"The Deadly Desert surrounds the O.Z. Anything living that touched it immediately turns to sand. There are many names for it and in some locations the way of death is different but imminent nonetheless. It's a landmark much like the Field of the Papay."

"Then how did he get here?"

"He never clearly stated but I suspect he rode an, oh what did he call it…an Ekam?"

DG had some semblance of understanding during the conversation but became completely lost during this new development. First, she learned of this "Deadly Desert" and its danger but now there's a thing that can cross it? "Well, I'm lost but you seem to have calmed down." DG thought for a moment then slightly bounced at an idea and pointed to the air, "I know. I'll stay in here with you tonight. It'll be like a sleep over but only with us and no chips or candy."

"What do chips and candies have to do with a sleep over?" It was now Azkadellia's turn to be confused. Sleep over's were apparently much different on the other side. Well, at least it was different from the sleep over's she attended as a child. Since chips are used for gambling, they aren't featured at a party with children and candy was prohibited after curfew to her to prevent accidental use of magic.

"I'll explain later. First, let me go change and maybe you should too. These gowns can't be comfy to sleep in." And with that, the younger princess went to the room next door to retrieve her night clothing as the elder changed and began cleaning the tears from her face.

Jaiden walked throughout the garden remembering all the so-called "adventures" he and the princesses would have. They would take turns creating a plot to a story, usually during his turn the end would result in his clumsiness destroying all hope for a perfect ending, "Some knight I am. I can't even keep one princess safe, let alone two. What have I gotten myself into?" He sighed as he sat on a stone bench by a large fountain. Considering that no one was in the area but guards, the prince decided to remove the jacket he was wearing, along with the vest under it, leaving only the white long sleeved shirt he had under it. "Too hot." He mumbled as he fought with the jacket to remain on the bench. "But a promise is a promise. Even if I have to be the knight for two princesses I still must keep the promise." Deciding to relax, he leaned back a bit and held his nose high into the air. The smell of the air let him know it was indeed dark enough for someone to stumble without a light. With this notice, he opened his eyes and looked around. "Ah, sweet night. Why am I cursed this evening? I hadn't seen either princess since childhood but since the lighting was still much too bright I couldn't look upon them. I bet they've both grown into beautiful women." He paused and frowned, "Why am I speaking to myself? If there were anyone else around I would seem insane. Then Ahamo would seriously consider placing me in therapy."

"I considered that long ago when you promised my daughters you would be the only knight they needed." Startled, Jaiden sat up and fell off the other side of the bench that he sat. This caused the other man to chuckle and help the younger to his feet. With a small blush of embarrassment, Jaiden dusted himself and sighed. "Why so glum? You at least got to dance with her."

"Yes sir and it was wonderful…but those…those…"

"Jerks?"

"Yes. They can't see past her face. They refuse to see it wasn't her. They need to blame someone but they're blaming the wrong person."

"It isn't your fault either." Ahamo sat on the bench and motioned for Jaiden to sit as well.

"I still wasn't there. It was my post and I left it." Jaiden sat next to the consort and held his head in his hands, "I should have at least waited until the next watch came."

"What happened, happened. There's nothing you can do about it now."

Jaiden sighed once more and leaned back to look at the stars, "When you're right, you're right. I failed once. I won't do it again."

* * *

**Note: **Something has happened to my chapter two. I thought I had it saved to my flashdrive when changing computers but apparently it's on my external hard drive which is currently fighting me. So, I will attempt to rewrite my second chapter...This may take a while.


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